Today was my last 5:30am day. For the time being anyway. I got assigned to Door 3 (hanging clothes). Kim got assigned to Door 6, and wasn't thrilled. Another girl (forgot her name, sorry) was assigned to Spider, and since it was her first time doing the 5:30am shift, she didn't know what to do. Kim asked Rob if they could trade. Rob said no. I tried to help Kim as best as I could, at least in terms of finding the "door" area and wondering with her if Door 8 (which was listed on the same sign) was her responsibility or someone else's. Turns out, it was her's.
Jerri, one of the stock women, officially celebrated 5 years with the Company today. It was actually earlier in the week, and Manager Ginny had brought her flowers, but today was official. The stockers all gathered in the managers' offices area, where they gave her a pin, a card, and Manager Meag brought out Munchkin donuts. I had two covered in small, multicolored, round sprinkles. Awesome ^-^
Back in the tunnel, however, I found out from Terri (working the other half of Door 3 with me) that 5 years used to be celebrated with a breakfast. They'd have it over in World Showcase before it opened, and there'd be a slideshow and the managers would all be there. Plus, Terri said she was trying to help Jerri put the five year pin on her name tag, and realized the pin was plastic! Apparently two people have 25 year pins, and one's different (cheaper?) than the other.
Spent some time letting my imagination go while in the tunnel ^-^
Today I also got my Public Storage unit. Found out the woman I left a message with actually LIVES at PS, which seemed kind of interesting. She showed me around, told me about the things she'd be fixing and what she planned to do, and gave me a whirlwind of information and paperwork. It cost...about the price of a hotel room for the night, but honestly, I thought it was kind of neat. I've got one box there now, and really need to get to packing things up a little more.
Finally, while trying to find out when I work tomorrow, I discovered that I'm scheduled for next week Sunday through Wednesday. I'm sure this is from when I talked to Sandra about going seasonal and she told me to put my availability in The Hub. But as the schedule's still temporary, who knows? We'll have to see about it all.
One last thing I want to mention before I go, even though it may not have been my last forever, today was my last Wave as a CP. That was always one of my favorite parts of the 5:30am shifts. It was so nice to take a break from stocking (unless I was way behind), go and sit and listen to the store updates, and then fun trying to find the right right-handed Mickey mitt to wear while standing outside in the Breezeway. Sometimes, like today, the weather would be just absolutely wonderful, and that breath of fresh air would be so rewarding. Of course I'd watch the Fab Five as they made their way around by the people. And then the "First Family" Test Track car would drive by and we'd all cheer and wave. Finally, the Guests would be let in, and sometimes it would be nothing short of a sea of people (or a little group if the weather was meh). It was always so cool to see that many people headed straight towards you, and fun watching Attractions people try to keep them in line. And more fun to watch the random stragglers from the morning's Princess Breakfast try to get out of the way. Ah and then the waving and the "Good morning"ing and the high four-ing too, all these people rushing past on their way to Test Track and Mission Space. It wasn't hard to give a geniune smile to these people.
And some would pin trade too, that I loved.
I'm also going to miss being in Epcot in the early hours of the morning. With the Flower and Garden festival going on, the air always smelled so sweet in the mornings. It would be so cool to skirt around the trucks and pargos driving on the paths and avoiding getting sprayed by the high-pressure hoses 3rd shift was using (or the watering system the park employs). Secretly, my favorite part was being able to see Spaceship Earth. It hasn't really been lit up in the mornings, "conserving energy" I guess, but today it had a bit of its nighttime glow and then some reflected white light from goodness-knows-what project was being worked on that required bright lights. Walking down the (nearly) empty pathways, seeing people work or just enjoying the quiet peace, that's something to be savored, for sure.
And walking by Test Track maintenance in the morning and peaking in to see what the guys were doing! It was always awkward when they'd say good morning to me. Polite, but then I'd feel like I should be staring. But it was still neat. Especially when I could look into the back of Test Track, right off the end of the ride, and see the sign hanging that says "Test Track, opening Spring 1997". It's nice when they keep stuff like that.
Oh my, I've got to get to bed! Here's hoping that things'll be ok, since the next couple of days are just going to be crazy. I've got lots of fun packing and organizing to do, not to mention wanting to get some laundry done (believe it or not). But sleep is good too :P
